How the Rwenzori Marathon is setting a new trend of runners

From 2000 runners last year, the Tusker Lite Mountain Rwenzori marathon of 2025 is expected to attract 6,000 this time.

This was revealed during the launch of this event recently at the Sheraton hotel. Notably, this went a long way to highlight how the Rwenzori marathon is setting a new trend of runners, ready to partake of the whole experience.

Professional athlete, Abel Chebet confirmed that he would be competing in this year’s edition because of how much he enjoyed the race last year. Running in the 21km half-marathon, Chebet, who won the race, is looking forward to giving it a go even this time because of the incentive therein.

“Last year, I won a prize of Shs 5 million, when I won the race. I feel good about myself right now, and, therefore, confident that I can win again,” Chebet said.

In light of that, a lot more professional athletes from Kenya have expressed interest in heading to the Rwenzori for this marathon, which will be marking its fourth year. During the inaugural marathon back in 2022, a total of 700 runners competed in different races, from 5kms, 10kms, 21kms to the 42kms main event.

Just over Shs 100 million is reportedly being injected in this sporting event. Although, to make the sporting experience more memorable, the Rwenzori marathon has been famous for its grand meeting between tourism and sports.

Kasese district, where the Rwenzori mountain emerges into the clouds, is not the only attraction for sight-seeing. A range of game parks from Queen Elizabeth, Rwenzori mountain national park, River Nyamwamba and the Kilembe mines are among the most historical sites.

According to Amos Wekesa, the director of Equator Hikes, a tourism company involved in the organization of the Rwenzori marathon, emphasized how this event provides one with an opportunity to see Uganda’s rich nature.

But also coupled with the running, a message on climate change is a major discussion. The call for more tree planting is a major campaign this year, to restore the environment, especially the Rwenzori mountain which is losing a lot of its snow, a component that made it unique since snow does not fall in Uganda, generally.